Official FlightLine RC 1200mm F8F-1 Bearcat Thread

[Grossman56]

Not a problem Thomas! One Bearcat fan to another!

Grossman56

[Terrible T]

Yes, the two grub screws identified in the above diagram are the screws I mentioned. I tightened both for/on each strut.

Took the bird out this AM. Handles well during taxi, takeoff and landing. One would not think so though when the gear are tested and there is such a great amount of slop.

Appreciate your attention to my question/s.

Regards,
Thomas

[Grossman56]

Greatly appreciate the information Grossman56. Went out and found the two grub screws positioned at the side of the trunnion/s. Tightened all four of them up but the loose strut/s remain.

While going through the process of locating the grub screws I did find what I believe to be the real problem, however, as both retract servos mounting flanges are broken across one side. If it were not for the metal cap each landing gear servo would simply rotate out of position on landing. It appears the metal cap/s are acting to hold the broken section of each flange in place. The cap also is splinting the remainder of the two flanges thus fixing both gear in place for now.

I could not locate the set screw/s.

Regards,
Thomas

I'm not sure if you have the manual for the airplane. A few years ago I rewrote some of the manuals and still have them on my PC, here's what I was referring to:

As you can see, 'H' is the set (grub) screw I was referring to. It's easier to access if you remove the retract from the wing. Make sure both are tight as they will cause the wheels to slop in a toe in/toe out manner and if they're really loose, the retract will fall out. Hope this helps.

Grossman56

[Terrible T]

Greatly appreciate the information Grossman56. Went out and found the two grub screws positioned at the side of the trunnion/s. Tightened all four of them up but the loose strut/s remain.

While going through the process of locating the grub screws I did find what I believe to be the real problem, however, as both retract servos mounting flanges are broken across one side. If it were not for the metal cap each landing gear servo would simply rotate out of position on landing. It appears the metal cap/s are acting to hold the broken section of each flange in place. The cap also is splinting the remainder of the two flanges thus fixing both gear in place for now.

I could not locate the set screw/s.

Regards,
Thomas

[Grossman56]

There is a set screw at the base of the strut and the retract. It's a little difficult to see and only accessible when the gear is retracted. See if you can find it and tighten it up, I had the same thing.

Grossman56

[Terrible T]

Hello, first post in/on this forum.

Recently decided to try a war bird. Came across a Flightline F8F 1200mm Bearcat which was affordable so picked it up. The bird was/is basically a derelict as its previous owner flew it hard and put it to bed wet (literally wet). Flew it with only two of the four props. Belly landed the bird most of the time (according to the owner) and generally took no to little care of it. Being a sucker for mistreated aircraft I brought it home.

I've had it up once now and it does what I expected. Not hard to fly at all if one keeps its speed up. I am however, wondering it I should replace the main gear as they both seem to be wobbly. The bird will taxi fine and takeoff and land fine BUT the gear just seems somewhat loose. Question is what is too loose for this bird? Hoping someone here can give me some insight.

Regards,
Thomas...

[Grossman56]

Maiden today. I guess its a maiden as she's pieces from three airplanes flying in formation. Anyway, it flew, well like a Bearcat flies, a couple of clicks of elevator and she was in the groove. One gear door is giving me trouble so I'll have to play around with that, but otherwise...
I can honestly say that I've never had an issue maidening any of my Bearcats, this being, in essence the fourth maiden, she's a great airplane and with the upgraded power plants in both of mine, I've never had an issue with slow flight or landing.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

We have three tuxedo kitties, all the same litter, so it's likely they are in there somewhere.
They love to come down and watch me work on the airplanes, what can I say??


Grossman56

[OV10]

And I also noticed a pattern, that black cat is always lurking in the background during these glamour deck photo shoots.
Since I live in the area where Rod Serling came from, I am always at mind to think is there a Twilight Zone
event connecting your black cat luck to crashes LOL

[boomer108]

Looking good Gman!

[Grossman56]

Well, the sun is out and the Bearcat is complete with the installation of the A3L yesterday. Traditionally, all my planes get their pictures taken out on the deck. Is it perfect, no, but it's damned close and considering the parts, with the exception of the motor, ESC and main landing gear wheels, are all from a plane that went down in 2017, she's an unexpected surprise!



I'm noticing a pattern in the fleet now. Two Bearcats, two Spitfires, two flyable Mustangs, two P40's and two Pandoras. Hmm, wonder if that's significant?

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

The 3948 760kv motor seems like an ideal upgrade for this plane. The motor mount fits into the stock holes, the prop shaft was from La Patrona and the stock Bearcat prop fit onto that perfectly, so the stock bearcat prop shaft will mate up to the motor. I'm dealing with a slightly bent nose so I shimmed the motor to align it properly. The stock radial motor fit over the motor even with the damage to the nose, with no mods as well. I had the other 760 kv and weighed it against the 650 that I have in the other Bearcat, the 760 is lighter but heavier than the stock 580kv motor. The nice thing is that with the battery back, she CG'd up without having to add weight to the tail. Anyone looking for this motor, I got it from one of the 3D FMS birds, can't recall which one but it should be easy to find on the Horizon Hobby website, or Motion may have an equivalent motor.
Just judging from the amount of throttle for taxiing and comparing it with the other Bearcat, she looks to be more powerful. can't wait to see he fly, I'm just waiting for an A3L which is on its way. With the ten channel receiver, I can vary the amount of gyro by using the control knob, it just doesn't get any better.
BTW, the battery deck is installed, I used the one out of the other bearcat and trimmed the excess off an old battery hatch floor and it worked great!


Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Bits and Pieces update.
She's assembled and painted, all systems are working.
I used the receiver from La Patrona and had the blue box sitting in storage, all worked well.


Still have some work to do, The battery deck has to be manufactured and installed, I'll use the one out of the other Bearcat for a template. Note to self. Make a pattern of all pieces that can't be bought.
I found that making everything blue really added to the authentic look, apparently, from what I've seen and heard in videos, Grumman painted them blue and slapped them out.

Grossman56

[rifleman_btx]

Yes, I would, but now you see the prices! The 1200 mm Bearcat released at $199.00 and now is up to $279. The last one I got was obviously old stock, the decals wouldn't even stick to the plane. Yet it's shelf value increased. Still, can you imagine a 1600 mm 6s Bearcat (Or Hellcat for that matter) with actual scale landing gear and a folding tailwheel?
Ahhhh, I'm still holding out for a P51B as well.

Grossman56

Yes please to a 1600mm Bearcat!

[Grossman56]

Yes, I would, but now you see the prices! The 1200 mm Bearcat released at $199.00 and now is up to $279. The last one I got was obviously old stock, the decals wouldn't even stick to the plane. Yet it's shelf value increased. Still, can you imagine a 1600 mm 6s Bearcat (Or Hellcat for that matter) with actual scale landing gear and a folding tailwheel?
Ahhhh, I'm still holding out for a P51B as well.

Grossman56

[OV10]

Would be absolute standup if FL would do a 1600 version of the Bear as well as the Hellcat too since it was such a turning force of the Pacific battle.
Dan, I know you would be like number 1 or 2 in the preorder line for a Bear of that size knowing how many times you have indeared the many 1200's.

[Grossman56]

Bearcat One, now rechristened as Bit's and Pieces is being rebuilt as we speak.
Here she sits after a trial fitting of all the major parts:



Now, the wings are rebuilt from the original, I cut and applied Flite Metal in the shape of the wing panel where the landing gear attaches to add aluminum strength, then primed the wings with Krylon Foam Primer. Painted the wings black then used the same blue I had mixed for the Pitts. A pretty accurate match. The tail section was original to both Bearcat one and two, one of the elevators was knocked off, now reglued to the stab using Foam Tac.



As you can see, the fuse is in the process of being filled, I tried the steamer to loosen the foam and it did help a bit but there is still some work to be done. There is a slight amount of damage to the nose ring as you can see at about 2 o'clock, but the picture makes it stand out more than in real life. The wheels are from Bearcat three as I have Dave Browns on her. The motor is from La Patrona. A 3948 kv 750. I haven't run the numbers on it yet, but I'm thinking a Mantis 85a ESC should work. The prop is the original Bearcat one prop before I converted it to the 1400 mm FMS Corsair prop. This will do for now, with the possibility of converting it to the Corsair prop in the future. The nice thing about this motor is that the dummy radial should fit easier than with the 650 kv, haven't tried it yet, so we'll see.



The glossy tail section was on the wreck of Bearcat two, here it is all together again with the tail wheel and linkage hooked up to the rudder. there is a plate that goes over the linkage and damned if I didn't find a brand new plate buried inside the fuse of Bearcat two, still in its bag.



The fuse will get the Primer, black and blue repaint as well and for once, I won't use the Blue Angels decals but the basic Naval markings, just to be different and 'cause I want to
Stay tuned!

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Well, it's winter in Wyoming, so since all my planned repairs are done, I started looking at some wrecks. I have two F8F wrecks and one F7F. Funny how time changes your perspective. I totaled my first F8F at Muncie years ago and bought a new set of wings and fuse then transferred all the guts from the wreck to the new. No biggie, we've all done it. Then last year I lost Bearcat 2 in the sun and let's just say it isn't very pretty. Sold an airplane last Spring so purchased Bearcat 3, installed the 650Kv and 85A Mantis ESC from Bearcat 2 into it and all is well.
Started checking over Bearcat 1 fuse and wings because, frankly, I was bored. The wings are in surprisingly good shape, I'd popped the retracts out and the repair was a little rough but not bad. The nose of the fuse is slightly wrinkled but intact with a slight chip on the nose ring. "A project!" cried I!

Bearcat 1 (she will fly again!)


Bearcat 2 Horizontal stab and canopy will come from her, may she rest in peace.


Bearcat 3



Now the question is what to do for power? I'll go digging to see what I have lying around. I do have a complete prop, motor and ESC from Bearcat 3 that has never been used so that's a possibility.
Hard to believe this plane (picture #1) went down at Nefi in 2017 and five years later, she just may take to the skies again.

Grossman56

[WrightBrosRC]

This is my config. Results may vary...

[Jerryz18]

Mine doesn't balloon with flaps. It actually did a loop. Can you tell me what percentage of down elevator did you use?